Hi, the mod doesn't seem to make any changes for me. I currently only have USSEP and Alternate start activated in my load order, when i activate the mod, the npc's still retain their original name.
sorry I meant Skypatcher and the reason why it would be better is that there is no plugin to add more to your modlist (esl or not) SkyNames - Second Names for Unique NPCs
That would put a requirement of 4 other mods on this, not something I'm a fan of, even if it's mods most people use. Besides you can simply remove the plugin from your game after the rename, the name changes stick.
Does this mod fully incorporate all the names changes that this mod also affects?
If not, would it be possible to incorporate that into the next update? Old Holds - Clan Names and Titles does an awesome job of giving us their names back, but the way the mod is built, it is incompatible with NPC overhauls.
It fully incorporates all the names that were intended by bethesda. The mod you linked makes over 100 name changes, of which over 80% are not restored but created by the author. Of the remaining 18 name changes of that mod 4 were already overlapping with my mod and 12 were again creations that weren't meant to be surnames by bethesda nor clannames, but at least those existed in the world already like Fellstar. However just because a farm is named fellstar doesnt mean everyone living there should get that name. Someone living at "happy chicken farm" shouldn't get the family name happy-chicken-farm, thats just silly. All names that were intended by bethesda as clannames or shared family names were already in the game. The last 2 names of the mod were the ones I missed and added in the new update. Namely Holgeir and Fjori. bethesdas naming conventions for skyrim were inspired by norse tradition were people would have honorable titles instead of last names and those weren't shared unless your house was a whole clan with actual power. Women didn't share the name of their husbands. Children were usually named after the father though.
Hmm, I had thought Fjori and Holgeir's names were inventions of that mod as well. The only thing I can find which uses those labels is "Fjori the huntress met the warlord Holgeir", neither of which are capitalised. That would suggest those labels are descriptive, not titular.
Great observation! In Norse traditions, descriptive epithets like ‘the huntress’ and ‘the warlord’ were often used both poetically and as honorary titles. In the poetic context, they’re typically lowercase, serving as narrative descriptors. However, when addressing someone directly or formally, they could be capitalized as titles to show respect or recognize status. In Skyrim (which is based on Norse culture) , this stylistic choice helps emphasize Fjori and Holgeir’s legendary roles. Using ‘Fjori the Huntress’ and ‘Holgeir the Warlord’ capitalized is consistent with historical Norse naming customs. Titles and bynames were not only for honor but also for clarity and distinction, especially in societies where names could be common. For example Kjeld the Younger is specifically named like that to avoid confusion with his father Kjeld.
I've got a couple more for you - the Imperial farmer looking to join the Stormcloaks is called Sylvian, and the Dunmer farmer looking to join the Legion is called Bodryn (this data is in the quest aliases). It would be a bit odd if you encountered them multiple times, but that didn't stop those wedding guests from appearing all over the province...
A few other thoughts - do you think Vignar and Olfina could lose their clan name when moving into the palace? Their names with everything are quite long, and it would also be traditional in some cultures for nobility to replace their family name with a royal title. Similarly the East Empire Dockworker names are quite long, and in this instance no other similar characters include their job title as part of their names, so "East Empire ..." could probably just be removed.
Hello Sir. Big Fan of your work. Would love to have permissions to port your mods to PS. I have also sent you a message on discord. Thank you have a good day
It's user configured, so if it does interfere, a patch would simply involve replacing the names in the config text file with the ones here, or adjusting any affected config to another identifier if possible (e.g., EDID or FormID). Just something some users might want to be aware of and test if it concerns them, since they are commonly used mods/tools.
Some names were assigned to the References only, some names were assigned as ID only and some only in relationship data, dialogue or scripts. Reasons vary a lot, most of them were simply forgotten others were deemed too long, or in case of the dockworkers or Fjola likely too uninformative so the player wouldn't have known the purpose of an npc at first glance. It's really very inconsistent in vanilla. Tolfdir the white was planned as an easter egg and reference to gandalf the white from lord of the rings after tolfdir defended the college bridge. I can only speculate that it was deemed either too obvious or they wanted some kind of event to go with the name change like maybe tolfdir defeating a daedra. But really for the most part they were just forgotten since a lot of npcs don't have last names and nobody noticed their absence i guess. Vyrthurs first name is kind of important though since it hints that Gelebor is not his real brother but his figurative broher. Interestingly the Official Prima Strategy Guide refers to most of these npcs with their full name or title.
22 comments
SkyNames - Second Names for Unique NPCs
Does this mod fully incorporate all the names changes that this mod also affects?
If not, would it be possible to incorporate that into the next update? Old Holds - Clan Names and Titles does an awesome job of giving us their names back, but the way the mod is built, it is incompatible with NPC overhauls.
Cheers!
A few other thoughts - do you think Vignar and Olfina could lose their clan name when moving into the palace? Their names with everything are quite long, and it would also be traditional in some cultures for nobility to replace their family name with a royal title. Similarly the East Empire Dockworker names are quite long, and in this instance no other similar characters include their job title as part of their names, so "East Empire ..." could probably just be removed.
All in all, another good restoration mod!
I assume this will work with NPCs Names Distributor?